I'll try to explain why Legend of Concubines Zhen Huan is so special to me and why eventually it left me speechless but I know that won't be easy job, still I want to write about this drama cause I want to always remember all the things I experienced while watching it and remember how it was a real inspiration for me. First I need to say that it instantly became one of my ultimate favorite dramas, it was totally addicting, interesting, entertaining, and even more informative than any other Chinese historical dramas I've watched about Palace (palace intrigues and palace etiquette) especially about concubine ranks (from Daying to Huanghou), how they have to behave and follow the proper etiquette when meeting the Emperor, Empress, Empress Dowager or concubines with higher rank and even also how concubine's parents have to salute and address them very strict conduct. it's like I've learn lot of things only with that drama and made me want to read a lot more about Qing Dynasty. This drama impressed me on so many levels that I hardly have words to express the beauty of this piece as everything is simply perfect from the writting of characters and story to the costumes which are so exquisite, make up, sceneries, music, poetry … In my opinion the costumes and make up in this drama are the best I've seen, all the concubines look so graceful and sublime in all these different dresses with their make up and headpiece which make them so unique and different from each other, but of course for me the Queen of the Palace is Zhen Huan, she's so dazzling and the most beautiful woman the emperor ever has in his harem and somehow I totally understand why he fell for her, why he wanted to always be in her company and asked a lot about her opinion for private matters because of her superior education and great cleverness.
Now I'll write about Zhen Huan and her story just if you plan to watch this drama I don't really know if what's coming can be considered as a spoil so just in case do not read the next lines, only about Zhen Huan's part though), so it deals with her story and how from an innocent and pure hearted girl she becomes one of the most powerful and scary women in the harem. What I liked about her when she entered the palace is despite that she was very young she was not careless but very cautious, in the very beginning we can see that she does not want to gain the emperor's favor to stay away from all those schemes/plot and I have to say that it was her most peaceful moments, living in harmony with her two dearest friends. But of course it did not turn like she wanted it to be and after all the sad things that happened to her what she then did was not because she wanted fame and power or favor from the emperor but only to survive and protect the ones that are dear to her, parents and sister, her love, her children, her best friend. Even if people would say she became heartless and greedy I can't really agree with them and I can't hate Zhen Huan either, on the contrary I think she was so smart, strong and daring, all what a woman in the harem needs if she wants to live and survive. After finishing this drama I realise how I love Zhen Huan, she automatically became my favorite female character because she always manages to remain unscathed no matter what's happening to her not showing her true feelings to her opponent, I admire her so much for that, I also love her imposing character, her braveness, her heart and her scary face as well.
I've always liked Sun Li and found her incredibly talented but in this drama she showed another facet of her acting, in my opinion she delivered her most outstanding performance In LOCZH. A Stunning Actress indeed <3.
In this drama I generally like Zhen Huan's relationship with all other characters, I'll talk about some of them :
-Mei Zhuang her sister of heart, the only woman in the palace with whom she could be fully herself and tell all of her inner thoughts, I like so much their bonding and their conversations it was always so genuine and so adorable how they care for each other and help the other when necessary and I can't even count the number of time they tried to help each other in dire situation, her best friend and her best confidant in this awful palace.
-Jing Fei one of Zhen Huan's Jie Jie in the Palace who was always here for her, I love seeing them together and despite their age gap I found their friendship so beautiful, as much as Jing Fei did a lot for Zhen Huan, Zhen Huan always helped her in return and gave her one of her most precious thing in life, one of the most wonderful present ever.
-Duan Fei, I love so much those two, I don't really know why Duan Fei decided to go near Zhen Huan and approached her (maybe I'll understand more when I rewatch the drama) but for sure they have one of the most incredible friendship in this palace, I also love the way they always salute each other, and only both of them do that in the Palace making them look so cool and unique. Duan Fei is such a respectful and dignified woman and I'm glad I could see more of her in the second part of the drama.
-Hua Fei, ahaha what an incredible and hateful relationship they have those two, such a threatening woman Hua Fei is but Zhen Huan never showed her feelings towards her I mean she never ever showed her weakness and so it was so hard for Hua Fei to attack her and destroy Zhen Huan however she's for me one of the greatest villain I've seen in drama, Jiang Xin did a really great job in portraying the cruel and scheming Hua Fei, SUPERB !
-4th Prince, he is cute and very well educated I'm glad Zhen Huan paid attention to him and decided to take care of him and keeping him company.
-Ning Pin, this woman is so unpredictable and dangerous and we love her like that (at least I do), she never ever showed some attention about all those scheming in the palace nor for high position or favoritism cause after all she was like lost in an empty island , a place she was not meant to be and maybe I think that befriending Zhen Huan made her life a bit more positive and interesting, love love so much those two together and all the things she did for ZH . Definitely a character I will never forget since she made such a great impression on me when I first saw her.
Generally I liked all of the different characters even those I haven't cited above (Guo Jun Wang, Zhen Huan's maids especially Liu Zu and Jin Xi, Doctor Wen...)
Frankly speaking there's not a character I truly hated, I rather sympathize with some of them nevertheless there's one exception and that is the emperor whom I just couldn't like and totally hated all what he did to all the concubines, how he treated them like merchandises, shows favoritism to some of them and doesn't even look at the older ones arousing jealousy of each other. I particularly disliked that he couldn't trust them and believe his favorite women and not look for evidence and punish them whe he thought what he had before his eye were crucial proof. I won't say more but yeah that's pretty much what I think.
The Music also was so beautiful, another one of the aspect of the drama I truly enjoy and that's true that at first I did not really notice it I would even say that I did not like it either especially the op and end songs which I found pretty boring but honestly I realised after some time that they fitted perfectly with the tone of the drama and I even started to like them and enjoying listening to those songs that we can hear in some sad and memorable scenes in the drama. I also love so much the instrumentals.
Personally I enjoyed every second of this drama and I know the beginning is a little bit slow I would say the first 15 episodes but it was necessary for the comprehension of the story and the main characters. After that everything was so addicting and all I wanted was to watch the next eps and follow Zhen Huan's and her friend's adventures, how she will evolve throughout the drama and what would she do. I'll definitely rewatch this drama for sure, I'm not scared to rewatch the entire drama as it is one of those dramas we know no matter how much we rewatch them we won't be bored and at least maybe it'll give me the opportunity to understand more the characters and their difficulties.
without any doubt I would recommend it to everyone and especially for those who aren't afraid to watch a long drama and wants to learn more about palace etiquette and how it worked at that time.
This is one of those rare drama I knew I would love and yes it totally lived up to my expectation and even more than that since I loved it much much more than I expected.
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The story comes in waves, at times there is a feeling of melancholy and helplessness of the situation while at other times you will be jumping in your seat from excitement!
Intrigues changes all the time, what was once a dear friend or ally becomes an enemy and vice versa. It's a very complicated story with a big cast which might make it difficult for some western viewers to follow if the series is not watched at a high frequency.
Watching the acting in this series is a treat, the characters become very much alive and they are deeply written. You will always understand why a character behaves as he or she does. There are always motives behind their actions, and even if you might hate a character for some action they did, you will often find yourself later also feeling pity for them because you will see their reasoning behind it.
One of the most popular series in China, give it a try you won't regret it!
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Let me start by saying the synopsis here is absolutely not true! the synopsis is what made me set this drama aside for years, lead character being so evil to attain her ambitions? I guess the person who made the synopsis in this site never watched it. The main character is very beautiful, it can display innocence and it can show a scary look. She never killed or schemed someone because of her ambitions, she does not have ambitions to be an empress or empress dowager for her own interest. her evilness as the synopsis says is not even 1/5 of the other villains in the drama. All that prompted her to do what she did is a reaction to what the villains were doing to her, to protect herself, to avenge her lost love, to protect her children and herself, watch this, and even if you're fond of any drama genre, you will never put this down!
i've been watching so much asian dramas for the past 5 years or so to the point that I never have tot urn on the TV to watch anything else and I must tell you, this drama has been one of the most well made drama I have seen.
the plot is simple, very simple:
It's just some story of concubines and empress scheming, 76 episodes and the story only revolves within the harem. You have your emperor, empress and the concubines. Oh and it does have a love story
If you think of it, it does not deserve 76 episodes for such a simple plot. You might start wondering what they have done that it has to be 76 episodes, must be dragging, repetitive, boring.
let me tell you, I watched ten miles of peach blossom , SFD, Nirvana 1 & 2 , they're top notch when it comes to story line, plot and execution. since i watched these dramas, it has always been my standard if i should watch or drop a drama. I wqtched countless chinese historical, fanstasy cdrama, and many more kdramas, even thai dramas. I never had plan to watch Legend of Concubine Zhen Huan thou i've seen it many times when i search here what to watch next. I was watching Lgend of fuyao and i have to find somethign to kill the time while waiting for the next eps to be uploaded online. well guess what, I can stand not watching fuyaos eps till end of the week when all weekly eps were uploaded since i watched Legend of Concubine Zhen Huan.
must I say more?
let me compare it to top rated cdramas like TMOPB, ten miles has a very nice storyline + yang mi of course but it lacked luster when it comes to the most anticipated scenes like the fight scenes and the leads' supposedly moment of stardom. Fuyao has a great great storyline + yang mi, great costumes etc, name it, but let's admit it, it's toooooo draggy, too much reminiscing, crying scenes, in short, it has too much fillers it made the drama so bad that there are episodes that you ca skip entirely and still be on the loop. SFD, you can skip few mins. The only drama i can say that is at par with Legend of Concubine Zhen Huan is Nirvana 1, but Nirvana has it's advantage over Legend of Concubine Zhen Huan, its story revolves around so many people while Legend of Concubine Zhen Huan is only about the harem. while I was watching this drama, I thought about the talents of the writers and scriptwriters of this drama, the director, stage manager, idk but all that made it so beautifully executed I don't dare skip a scene,.. well i tried once but i ended up going back to what i skipped.
Legend of Concubine Zhen Huan is not your typical drama that follows every scene, it always conclude it. what i mean is, if a character asks her servent to get her a cup of tea, it no longer shows unnecessary scenes like servant bringing in the tea, if you know what i mean. this made the Legend of Concubine Zhen Huan one of its kind, fast paced but you'll not be left wondering unless you skip a scene. there's absolutely no boring moment and just like the other reviews and feedbacks, after you finish it, you will learn, you will learn how to be articulate with words, it grows in you while watching.
Nirvana has a very good rating here. I must say and Legend of Concubine Zhen Huan is very much at par it does not deserve 8.6 !!
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Every single characters are important, even though they won't appear as much as the main. The main is the main, only because she's the one telling her story. They are very humane. They are not entirely good, and they are not entirely bad. They all evolves in a certain way, and they are all only just people being trapped in a very conservative society. Their hope, their wishes, all broken down one by one, for the sake of their family or for their own sake.
* Acting/Cast : They don't try to be someone else, they are the character. It's like they are just telling their own story, not someone else's. You can feel someone's pain, you can understand someone's sadness, you can feel someone's happiness, thanks to the actors.
I would like to add how the drama itself is very well produced. How they adapted the story from the novel, the costumes, the traditions are all very close to the reality. It looks real? No, it's real. They've done a lot of research to be as close as possible to the reality. One of the actors, Zhang Xiao Long, is a teacher of Qing dynasty's traditions : how to bow down, how to speak, how to behave, how to eat, how to drink, everything single details are close to the reality.
* Music : The musics are all very good, and have all the "traditional" feeling without the "old fashioned" sense. it's well chosen, well done, and it's a part of the story as well. The music portray another type of Chinese traditional beauty.
* Rewatch Value : Believe me, I've watched a lot of historical Chinese drama since I was little. And none of them are as good as this one. This drama is god like. I've read the book, plenty of times, and I've watched the show countless time. You cannot get tired of this show.
But for the people who are not used to Chinese historical drama, or don't know much about Chinese culture, it may be very difficult. Even for those who are not able to understand the "old" Chinese way of speaking, you will not be able to understand the whole beauty of it. But I believe you will still enjoy the show!
* Overall : If you have other historical dramas to watch, watch them first. See the god like historical drama at last. Ever since I've watched this show, there's no way I can enjoy other drama as much as when I was watching or reading Empresses in the Palace... Like for real.
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My favorite drama ever, a masterpiece
My favorite drama so far. Also I'm going to say that it is my favorite show (not just within Asian dramas, it is one of the best shows I've ever seen, and this comes from a person that gets bored very easily and I don't usually watch long series like these). I just couldn't stop watching.There is something special about this drama, I became so obsessed that I couldn't stop thinking about it, I even dreamed about the main characters, founf myself trying to imitate their mannerisms... I was absolutely hooked with the story, very interesting and intriguing. The dresses and ornaments are gorgeous too, the aesthetics were a pleasure to the senses, it has very attractive visuals. I find Chinese traditional costumes super beautiful.
I would watch it again and again, even if it is a little bit long. It is the type of drama that doesn't let you catch a break between different plots, so it never gets boring. Absolutely recommended!
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This review may contain spoilers
A richly colourful depiction of the impressive Zhen Huan's life and times
"There are no sisters in the harem, just weak ones depending on the strong, silly following the smart, sisters today, enemies tomorrow, smile on the face knife in the back" ( Hua Fei)This sums up the core of the story. Zhen Huan enters such a place, the inner court of the palace, the harem; where she overcomes incredibly treacherous schemes to eventually rise to the top of the imperial court's hierarchy.
The acting in this drama is beyond excellent, it's such an immersive experience watching these talented actors bring their characters to vibrant life. Betty Sun's portrayal of Zhen Huan is amazingly self assured and poised, she brought a quiet yet steely strength and resilience to this character which was captivating at every turn; a truly world class performance.
Hua Fei, was played by Rulu Jiang so perfectly, so delicately, so evocatively that even though she is the villain for the first half of the drama, there are moments of such poignancy that made me shed a tear of sympathy for her situation, odious as her actions usually are.
The competent and confident showing of the Emperor neatly rounds off this truly amazing cast of characters.
The story is harrowing, tragic, sometimes joyful, always dynamic and entertaining; there's an impressive attention to detail in this show.
The character interactions are very detailed, the subs are not always clear as the language is intricate, but I got a more than average understanding of the plot, I love their way of speaking in idioms and poetry, with attention to the smallest detail especially when discussing music and literature.
I think that most people after watching this will be faced with the question of whether the Emperor was good or bad. In my opinion he did most things by the book according to the rules of the palace, so technically he did nothing wrong; however on a personal level, when it came to his relationships within the harem, his actions had the effect of being unjust to one or more women in the harem, and it's this constant upheaval that leads to the erosion of love and trust between him and his favourites. The Emperor's suspicious nature and his murderous means of holding onto his throne ultimately led to the resentment and hatred of his women in the harem and as a result led to his demise.
A concubine is like a flower which blooms and withers, and blooms and withers with every turn of the wheel of fortune and never ending palace intrigue.
Edit September 2024: I've bumped up the total for this drama from a 9 to a 10 out of 10. Just finished another rewatch with the help of the "Chasing Dramas" podcast and got a deeper understanding of the historical and cultural nuances of the storyline and dialogue. This drama is an enduring classic and in my opinion it is the definitive Chinese palace drama.
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Verry high rewatch value and I would recommend this to anyone who likes historically based C-dramas.
Costume 10/10
Sets 10/10
Story 10/10
Acting 10/10
Soundtrack 10/10
Characters 10/10
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This review may contain spoilers
Zhen Huan is a cute shy girl at the beginning but due to all plots taking place in the palace with all concubines he heart becomes harder and she is fighting agains unfair decisions. She has her close friend in the palace as well and they will protect each other all the time. Of course, there is am impossible love with the Emperor's brother which will add even more in the drama until she wrongly think he died and goes back to the Emperor who she hates from the date he expelled her for a mistake she made, plotted by the Empress. She will fortunately get rid of all her enemies and will become Empress Dowager which she perfectly deserves. Sun Li is perfect in her character. Was this review helpful to you?
The pros:
The story is set in the imperial harem and the daily lives of the imperial concubines are imagined, detailed and portrayed in a way that I don't expect to see in any other drama.
Characters are really really good. Especially Consort Hua and the Empress. They were the characters that kept me interested throughout the drama. Their backgrounds, reasons, intentions and feelings give their characters such a charisma that I think I will never forget.
Visually the drama is second to none and acting is outstanding in a way I can't stress enough. Also details in behavior, customs and mindset of the characters are very well done.
The music is wonderful and couldn't be more perfect and appropriate.
The cons:
The beginning of the drama is very slow. It takes a long, long time for something important to happen.
Too many times I felt like the writers were focusing too much on side stories and the main plot was less important and didn't feel as elaborated. I never felt like it was the story of Zhen Huan. I mean, she was there and all but her story was never the focus of the drama, like the title suggests. The writers were too busy with side plots and touched too little on her story. We're talking about a drama that is 76 episodes long, people! And we're also talking about a drama that is called 'The Legend of someone' but that someone doesn't do much??
Before watching this drama I thought Zhen Huan was going to be a badass protagonist but she just happens to do nothing...
One of its mistakes was the weak ending. I was expecting so much more!I never felt like it was actually ending except for the fact of having watched too many episodes. The ending happens out of nowhere. There isn't a strong build up. It just happens out of the blue... I'm not saying the ending doesn't make sense, but you'd never see it coming because there isn't enough build up and you can't guess what the main character's intention is in the first place. Like throughout the drama you can never get a clue of what's she's thinking of doing or planning to do. Is it the best decision when writing a story? The main character should be the one you know best but I guess not here.
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Sun Li and the supporting cast acted very well. I liked how Sun Li's character changed from the beginning to end while struggling to survive from all the sabotage. She did a great job displaying various emotions. Even though the drama was very long, but the costumes, prop set up, scenes, etc was jaw dropping - so beautiful! Great drama! Definitely one of my favorites.
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absolutely AMAZING
this is my first review, and i just HAD to write it about this drama!!! I am a native chinese speaker so it was easier for me to understand, but i do have to make it clear (even though i've never watched it with english subtitles) that people who don't understand chinese will have a harder time really understanding it. that being said, it is a 11/10 type of drama. for me, it holds a special meaning because it is the first drama i've ever watched, and I have watched it over 8 times. Sun li's acting is absolutely incredible, and so is everyone else. My favorite female (besides FL) is definitely jiang xin who played hua fei, the concubine who almost always wears pink and is very sassy (and does some very terrible things). For those of you who have watched Yanxi Palace or Ruyi Palace, it is very similar. The timeline of this drama and Yanxi are the same, and the next generation is Ruyi. However, all three of these dramas are (mostly) historically inaccurate. If you are trying to learn the real history, go search for a textbook or videos online. Although there were some frustrating moments in the drama, it is literally so so good. definitely recommend everyone to watch (native speaker or not) and enjoy!!Was this review helpful to you?
